- Formulates and implements strategies for national economic and social development, annual plans, medium and long-term development plans
- Coordinates economic and social development; carries out research and analysis on domestic and international economic situation; puts forward targets and policies concerning the development of the national economy, the regulation of the overall price level and the optimization of major economic structures
- Recommends various economic instruments and policies; submits the plan for national economic and social development to the National People’s Congress on behalf of the State Council
- Monitors macroeconomic and social development trend and provide economic forecasts, warnings and information guidance
- Studies important issues concerning macroeconomic performance, national economic security and industrial security
- Formulates policy recommendations on macroeconomic management; coordinates and addresses major issues in economic performance
- Organizes the emergency dispatches and the transport of important goods and materials
- Summarizes and analyzes fiscal and financial trends
- Formulates fiscal, monetary and land use policies
- Formulates and implements price policies; analyzes the effects of implementing fiscal, financial and land policies; supervises and inspects the implementation of price policies; sets and adjusts the prices of important commodities that are regulated by the state and important tariffs; deals with price monopolies and activities that violate price regulations; controls and monitors the total size of China’s foreign debts, optimizes its mix, and promotes the balance of international payments
- Directs, promotes and coordinates economic restructuring; studies major issues concerning the restructuring of economic systems; guides pilot projects of economic system restructuring and work in experimental reform zones
- Sets regulatory targets, policies and measures concerning the total size and structure of fixed asset investment in China; arranges and coordinates central government investment and key construction projects; sets fiscal expenditure for economic development
- Approves, authorizes and reviews key construction projects, foreign funded key projects, key investment projects for overseas resources development, and investment projects utilizing large amount of foreign exchange as mandated by the State Council; guides and supervises the utilization of foreign loans in construction projects; guides private investment; studies and puts forward strategies and plans for foreign capital use and overseas investment, as well as targets; guides the development of engineering consulting industry
- Promotes strategic economic restructuring; formulates comprehensive industrial policies, coordinates the development of primary, secondary and tertiary industries as well as balancing industrial development with national economic and social development
- Coordinates agricultural and rural economic and social development policies; cooperatively formulates strategies and major policies for development of service industry with other ministries; formulates strategies and plans for modern logistics and high tech industry development; coordinates and addresses major issues concerning dissemination and use of key technical equipment
- Aligns plans for special economic zones; coordinates the implementation of these plans and carries out monitoring and assessment
- Formulates strategies, plans and major policies to promote coordinated development of regional economy, western regional development, revitalization of northeastern region and other former industrial bases, and the rise of central region of China; studies and puts forward development strategies and major policies concerning urbanization; guides and coordinate regional economic cooperation
- Sets commodity policy; formulates import and export policy for important agricultural products, industrial products and raw materials; supervises the implementation of these plans and adjusts them in accordance with the performance of the national economy; formulates plans for state reserves of strategic materials and carries out collection, utilization, and management of these materials; manages the state grain, cotton, and sugar reserves
- Coordinates social development policies with national economic development policies; sets social development policy; participates in the formulation of development policies with regard to population and family planning, science and technology, education, culture, health and civil administration and promote social undertaking construction
- Studies and puts forward policies and suggestions to increase employment, adjust income distribution and improve coordination between social security policy and economic development
- Promotes sustainable development; undertakes comprehensive coordination of energy saving and emission reduction; organizes the formulation and coordinate the implementation of plans and policy measures for recycling economy, national energy and resource conservation and comprehensive utilization;
- Develops plans for ecological improvement and environmental protection; coordinates environmentally-friendly building, energy use and resource conservation practices; coordinates relevant work concerning environment-friendly industries and clean production promotion
- Formulates key strategies, plans and policies in addressing climate change; takes the lead with related ministries in attending international negotiations of climate change; undertakes relevant work in regard to the fulfillment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at national level
- Drafts relevant laws and regulations concerning national economic and social development, economic restructuring and market opening to the outside world and formulate regulations; to guide and coordinate tendering in accordance with regulations
- Organizes and formulates plans for national economic mobilization, study the relations between national economic policy and with national defense
- Undertakes day-to-day affairs for the State Defense Mobilization Commission, the Leading Group Office for Western Region Development of the State Council, the Leading Group Office for Revitalizing Northeast China and Other Old Industrial Bases of the State Council and the National Leading Group Office for Climate Change, Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction
- Undertakes other tasks assigned by the State Council